My Alpha Wolf

@fourgiving Thank you tons, for the new cover! 

Chapter 1: Sage

I open my eyes, feeling the cool touch of falling snow dusting my lashes, cheeks and lips. The Northern Woods spread out before me, snow-clad and glowing faintly with light from the fading sun. A sense of deja vu sweeps over me and I pause, brows furrowing as I slowly turn in a full circle to take in my surroundings.

"Sage? Where are you, Sage?" Mila's lilting voice fills the silence of the sleeping forest.

Astonishment fills me and my breath comes faster. "Mila?" I murmur softly, glancing around for the source of my little sister's voice. The tall trees creak and groan as I walk through the woods, my fingertips trailing along the cold bark of the trunks. Snow gathered in the high branches rains down behind me. The cold causes my breath to leave my mouth in white puffs. I step into a clearing, a grove of sorts, with flowers and bushes and other foliage buried in the snow. My breath hitches as I take in the white tiger cub standing across from me on the other side of the grove. Hope tightens my chest and throat, making my eyes damp.

The cat watches me with Mila's bright blue eyes. Three more tigers join her, two full grown cats and another cub. Their eyes match the hues of Will's and our parents' eyes. Family. My family.

I take a hesitant pace forward and feel myself tense up at the resounding crack of wood underfoot that resonates through the trees, the sound sending another cascading wave of snow onto the forest floor. Four pairs of curious eyes observe my movements. The grown female pads toward me and nuzzles her nose against my stomach, huffing a breath of warm air against me. I sink my fingers into her silky white and black stripes and fall to my knees in the snow. "Mom.." Tears well in the corners of my eyes and spill down my cheeks, the cold air freezing the drops as they fall from my chin. The tigress nuzzles into the crook of my neck, breathing me in. I loop my arms around her neck and hug her close. "You're okay." I breathe into her fur, hiccuping on a sob. "All of you..You're all.. okay." Turning my head, I press my face into her and stifle my weeping.

Dad strides over and plants his rear end down beside Mom. He nudges her hind leg gently and lifts his head to nod at me. I slowly let go of her, sniffling as I force calm into my aching heart. Mom pulls back just enough to flick her tongue up my cheek, wiping away a streak of tears. A small smile curves my mouth and I surge to my feet while wiping my face on my shirt sleeve. Dad and Mom turn and walk over to my siblings, nudging them along into the woods. Their swishy tails disappear out of the grove.

Curiously, I trail after them, my boot prints marring their paw prints in the snow. A cacophony of roars and growls and whimpers fill the air, sparking the sound of my blood roaring in my ears. Quickening my pace to a full sprint, I feel the beginnings of the familiar ache of dread developing in the center of my chest. Tree branches whip against me as I run, doing my best to dodge icicles and leap over shrubbery.

The sharp metallic odor of blood overpowers the crisp, clean scent of the snowy woods. As my nose takes in the new smell, I skid to a stop and send up a spray of snow. Mangled forms of white fur lay in the snow, pools of crimson surrounding the corpses. Steam rises from the still warm bodies. Tears brim in my eyes once more and I swallow hard to tamp down the rising bile in the back of my throat. Grief settles in my chest, feeling like the weight of the world rests centered under my collarbones.

An bengal tiger with dark streaks of red running down its side stands over the largest of the bodies. Dad, I realize with a start, staggering towards him. "No. This isn't.. real. No. No!" My breaths leave my mouth in quick, shallow pants as my panic level rises. I rake my fingers through my hair in a slow, despairing motion.